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Although I’m currently a lapsed blogger, there are still some things that must be mentioned. Readathon sits at the top of the list! I’m participating with updates at Twitter and Instagram today, so search for me @PhreneticMind.

Are you reading, too? Let me know in the comments below! [Look, that rhymes! 😄]

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Par for the course these years days, I wasn’t able to properly wrap up my Readathon experience immediately after this fall’s event. Blame it on extended reading hangover plus a couple weeks involving surgery and recovery. But during the delay I was able to finish the third book that I began in the late hours of readathon, so the timing is just about right to post my official post-event survey. It always works out in the end, doesn’t it?

Which hour was most daunting for you? I’m just gonna admit it finally: a 7am start time is too frakkin’ early for me. I never get to bed at a decent hour the night before, so I never quite get started till hour 4 or 5. So, yeah, the early start time is most daunting. It sounds stupid, but it’s time for me to face up to my truths. ::sigh::

Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? Oh my goodness, I found GREAT titles for this fall’s event! I highly recommend The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and Falling Into Place by Amy Zhang. Two vastly different novels, but both so very engaging.

Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? If only we could get more volunteers for cheering, eh? It dawned on me during the second half of readathon that I hadn’t heard from one cheerleader. Not on my blog and not on Twitter. And it really saddened me. I never realized how much I looked forward to the occasional pop-in to encourage and hoorah. But I missed it this time and was sad that my name had somehow been left off the cheering list. 😦 I wonder if there could be incentives for cheerleaders that might draw enough volunteers? I would definitely suggest revisiting the list of participants throughout the first 6 hours of the event to pick up any stragglers who didn’t begin in Hour 1. I suspect that’s how I was overlooked this time around.

What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? It appears that adding a GoodReads group was highly successful! I look forward to participating in that forum next time.

How many books did you read? During the actual 24 hours, I read 2-1/4 books with a total of 546 pages in 11 actual reading hours. Since then I worked to finish the third book as quickly as possible, so I’m going to count it as 3 readathon books this time. 🙂

Which book did you enjoy most?Falling Into Place was a great choice for readathon because it’s easy to read and such an interesting (and witty) way to deal with a difficult subject. But The Night Circus is now my number one recommendation for any event, at any time, for anyone I’ve ever known. It’s enchanting and the most perfect book to read when the rest of the world drifts off to sleep and leaves you in your own little cocoon. I cannot think of another book that has charmed me quite like The Night Circus.

Which did you enjoy least? I chose nothing but great books this time. A rarity!

If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? I wasn’t a cheerleader this time, but after hearing of their struggles to keep up with so many readers this time, I’m hoping I can jump back in to help in the spring. The best advice I’ve ever heard for cheering is to keep a list of your assignments and check them off as you visit each blog. Otherwise, it’s far too easy to overlook a participant. Which just makes us all very sad. 😦

How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? Always, always, always participating. My best good friend said it best: “No matter what [I’m] going through in life, [I] stick with the readathon every time.” No doubt! It’s my favorite reading event of the year! But next time, I want to help with the cheering again, too. Here’s hoping!

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Find me on Twitter @phreneticmind or sign up below to get updates delivered straight to your email inbox. Now, during Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon, and later, when I return to blogging. Come on. You know you want to!

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